Word.ws English Dictionary

septendecimal

septendecimal adjective: relating to or based on the number 17.

Adjective (1)

septendecimal (not comparable)

  1. Relating to or based on the number 17.

Adjective (2)

septendecimal (not comparable)

  1. Of or relating to a seventeenth.
    • If it is desired to proceed beyond tertian to septimal harmony to introduce the harmonic form of the phord of the dominant Seventh, with the ratios 4 : 5 : 6 : 7 as Mr. Poole has done (see sect. F. No. 7), or even to septendecimal harmony to introduce the harmonic form of the chord of the minor...1885, Alexander J[ohn] Ellis, “Introduction of the Seventh and Seventeenth Harmonics”, in Hermann L[udwig] F[erdinand] Helmholtz, translated by Alexander J. Ellis, On the Sensations of Tone as a...
    • I am sorry I cannot illustrate septendecimal harmony on this instrument as it is now tuned. It does not go beyond septimal harmony.1932 April 26, Wilfrid Perrett, “The Heritage of Greece in Music”, in Proceedings of the Musical Association, 58th session, [London]: Oxford University Press, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 94

Origin of septendecimal

From Latin septendecim (“seventeen”) + -al, after decimal. By surface analysis, septen- + decimal.

From Latin septendecimus + -al (after English seventeenth and decimal), from septendecim (“seventeen”), after decimus (“tenth”). Compare Latin septimusdecimus (“seventeenth”). By surface analysis, septen- + decimal. Coined by English mathematician, philologist and musician Alexander John Ellis in 1885 (see the quotation).

Questions about septendecimal

What does septendecimal mean?
Septendecimal means relating to or based on the number 17.
What part of speech is septendecimal?
Septendecimal is an adjective.

Words near septendecimal in the dictionary

  1. septenary
  2. septenate
  3. septendecennial
  4. septendecillion
  5. septendecillions
  6. septendecimal
  7. septennate
  8. septennates
  9. septennia
  10. septennial
  11. septenniality

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: septendecimal (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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